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On 15 December 2017, The Republic of Chameria President Festim Lato submitted a claim to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This legal claim seeks to address the unresolved human rights violations against the Cham people. The illegal expropriation of land, the denial of the Cham language and its heritage, as well as the absence of the recognition of the genocide committed against the Cham people are in this claim to the ECHR.

The president of the Republic of Chameria has started the legal case. As with all international legal cases of this magnitude it will take time, effort and dedication to get justice. The Cham people have been working for decades on the struggle for recognition of their historical rights and they have never relinquished their goals or identity. Justice for Chameria will come and an important step on its path has been taken today.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is an international court established by the European Convention on Human Rights. It hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights provisions concerning civil and political rights set out in the Convention and its protocols. Applications can be submitted by an individual, a group of individuals or one or more of the other contracting states, and, besides judgments, the Court can also issue advisory opinions. The Convention was adopted within the context of the Council of Europe, and all of its 47 member states are contracting parties to the Convention. The Court is based in Strasbourg, France.